Print roll



C. F. COOPER PRINT ROLL July 7, 1936.

Original Filed April 2'7, 1933 /NV%NTOR ATTORNEY$ Patented July 7, 1936 u iTE STATES rnm'r non.

Charles F. Cooper, Torrington, Conn; assignor to The American Brass Company, Waterbury, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut- Original application April '27, 1933. Serial No.

668,211. Divided and this application September.8, 1934, Serial No. 743,226

'6 Claims. (01. 101-375) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in printing means such as are used for printing textile fabrics. wall paper, oil cloth, linoleum and the like, and has particular relation to a print roll.

This application is a division of my prior application, Serial No. 668,211, filed April 27, 1933 for Method of making print mils.

Heretofore, in practice these rolls have been substantially solid having only a longitudinal tapered opening therethrough to receive a mandrel. Such rolls are expensive and when one etched or engraved design is to be discarded the roll is turned ofi in a lathe and another design etched or engraved thereon. When the roll has i been reduced to a certain diameter or thickness it is no longer adapted for, printing and although it still includes considerable metal it is merely sold as scrap. This results in a waste of material and has other disadvantages.

An object of the invention is to provide a printing roll of economical construction and which can be used and renewed or rebuilt to its original condition with a minimum of expense.

Another object is to provide an improved method of making printing rolls and of renewin or rebuilding such rolls.

Other objects and advantages will become ap-- parent from a. consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein satisfactoryembodiments of the invention are shown. However. it will be apparent that the invention is not limited to the details disclosed but includes all such variations and. modifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing: a

Fig. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section and showing a completed printing roll according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1, the view being on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation and illustrating the method;

Fig. 4, is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating a slightly different method; v

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 and showing a slight variation in the method; and

6 is a view illustrating a further variation. Referring in detail to the drawing, a complete printing roll constructed according to the present invention is shown in Fig. 1 and includes a core i0 and an outer shell I l secured to the core. This shell Il may have any suitable design engraved 'or etched in its outer surface and provides the printing'surface of the roll. m shown at I2, portions of the shell II are pressed into the core l0 and as shown at l3. portions of the core are forced into the shell. It will thus be evident that the two members are completely and thoroughly interlocked so there is no liability of their moving in relation to each other or the shell becoming loose on the core. They are in effect a solid unitary structure. The core'is provided with the usual tapered mandrel receiving opening l4 and the usual key iii in said opening and which key is.to be received in a keyway l6 provided in the usual mandrel ii. The tapered mandrel I! with the keyway I6 is standard construction and it is also standard construction to provide the roll with a tapered mandrel receiving opening therein and with a key to fit into the keyway of the mandrel. The roll is assembled on the mandrel by hydraulic press so the mandrel fits tightly in the opening in the roll.

Core' iii may comprise the center portion of a larger printing roll the said core representing what remains after the roll has'been repeatedly carded and sold as scrap metal. Also, the core may be especially constructed for the formation of the printing roll of the present invention. In

the use of the roll of Fig. 1 any design in the turned down-and which would ordinarily be disbeen repeated to the point where the shell is too thin it may be stripped from the core and a new shell applied.

In this way'the core need not be discarded and it will be appreciated that quite a saving results since the forming of the tapered mandrel receiving opening M and the key IS in the core is an expensive operation. Also, it will be seen that the core contains a considerable quantity of metal even though the diameter of the core is such that it is useless as a printing roll.. Since the shell contains portions embedded in the core and since the core contains portions embedded in the shell it will be readily appreciated that the shell and core are immovable relatively and are in effect a solid unitary structure. It is desirable that the shell and core be of materials having the same orsubstantially the same coemcient of expansion whereby when they heat up in use they will not work loose from one another. Preferably each part is formed of substantially pure copper or of some alloy of copper.

Fig. 3 illustrates one method which may be employed for forming the improved roll. In this figure a suitable core is shown at l8 and this core is provided with the tapered mandrel receiving opening l e and the key l5. On its outer surface core i8 is knurled, corrugated or otherwise rou'gh-v ened as at 19 whereby it is provided with a series of grooves and a series of projections or high places between said grooves. A shell 20 of any desired or suitable wall thickness is next provided and this shell is of an inside diameter to be passed over the core. At one of its ends the shell may include an inturned portion 2! to embrace a head 22 on a plunger 23 of any suitable hydraulic cylinder and piston construction (not shown).

At 24 is shown a die ring mounted in a suitable bed or holder 25 and according to Fig. 3 the core l8 and shell 20 have been drawn partially through this die 24. The core and shell are drawn. through the die by the piston and cylinder construction forced into the grooves H! of the core andthat the portions l3 of the core (such portions representing the projections or high places between the grooves) have been forced into the inner peripheral surface of the shell. Therefore, the parts are securely interlocked and when the core andshell have completed their movement through the die these parts will for their entire length be. rigidly secured together. When the operation has been completed the end portion 2B of the shell is removed as by cutting the shell along the broken line 26 and a completed printing roll is ready for Fig. 4 illustrates a slightly different method and in this figure the core is designated 21 and may be separatelyformed for this purpose. It may or may not be the center of an old print roll. This core 2'! includes a head or end wall portion 28 and on its outer surface the core is knurled or otherwise roughened as at- 29. A shell 30 of substantially the same construction as the shell 20 of Fig. 3 is applied to core 21 and includes an inturned end portion 3| overlying the wall or end 28 of the core. When the shell 30 is disposed on the core 21 these parts are passed through the die- 24 and according to Fig. 4 these parts are pushed through the die rather thanbeing drawn through it asin Fig. 3. e

Inj'ig. 4 a rod or plunger 32 is passed into the core so as to abut the end wall 28 thereof and when pressure is applied to this rod as by a hydraulic piston, the core and shell are forced through the guide. The action of the .dle'is that previously described and portions l2 of the shell are forced into the grooves 'inthe core and the portions l3 of the core between the grooves are forced into the shell so that the shell and co're V,

- are securely interlocked. This is as shownto the leftof the die'in Fig. (and when the assembly. has passed entirely through the die the resultant structlu'e may be severed as alongthe broken line 33, and this will result in removal of the-end wall 28 of the core and the inturned end portion 3| of the shell. I

It is to be understoodthat the core-21 is provided with the usual tapered manual receiving opening II and with the usual key in said opening. Also, it will be understood thatwhen the shell 30 becomes too thin, owing to being repeatedly illustrated in Fig. 6.

turned down to remove designs therefrom, the said shell may be stripped off the core and a new shell applied in the manner described, the core always being retained.

Fig. 5 suggests a slight modification of the pro:

cedure outlined in Fig. 4 and where possible the same reference characters have been applied. In this figure the core is generally designated 34 and the shell is generally designated 35 and the only difference between the methods of Fig. 4 and that l of Fig. 5 is that in Fig. 5 the inner periphery of the shell is knurled, corrugated or roughened andthe outer periphery of the core is left plain or smooth.

Therefore, it is the inner periphery of the shell that is provided with the grooves and when'the 1 core and shell are passed'through the die portions 36 of the core areforced intothe grooves in the shell and portions 31 between the grooves of the shell are forced into the core. Therefore, the parts are securely interlocked. 2

From'the foregoing it will be apparent that either the outer surface of the core or the inner surface of the shell or both may be grooved, corrugated, knurled or otherwise roughened and that when the core and shell are passed through the die, either by being drawn through it or by being pushed through it, the core and shell will be interlocked and rigidly connected over their entire adjacent surfaces, since portions of the core will r enter the shell and portions of the shell will be 4 forced into the core. As this is done as the metal of the shell .is being drawn or'worked as it passes through the die it results in a roll which is in effect a solid unitary structure. Also, it will be under stood that whenever the shell becomes thin after i "being repeatedly turned down it maybe stripped from the core and a new shell applied as above explained. .The old shell may be easily removed by running a cutting tool lengthwise through the shell permitting it to spring apart due to therelease of tension in the shell.

In the figures thus far described but one shellor one thickness has been applied to a core. However, it will be apparent that the shell may be applied in-a series of layers or thicknesses as I In this-figure the core is designated 38 and is provided with the usual tapered mandrel'receiving opening 39 and the; usual key; 49. The outersurface of the. core is knurled? or roughened at and a shell 42 is then provided aboutthe core and the assembly drawn through a die as. by the rod or plunger 23 connected with a suitable cylinder and piston construction (not shown) or the assembly may, be pushed through a die as willbe understood.

When this operation-has been completed the outer surface of shell 42 is knurled orotherwise grooved or roughenedfas at 43 and then a second shell M is applied and the assembly again passed through a die. Qbviously, portions of the shell 42 have been pressedmto the core'38 and portions of said ,core have been pressed into the shell. Also, portions of she1l l2 havebeen pressed into -shell ll and portions of the latter have been pressed into portions of 'theformerr If an additional shell is required then the outer surface of shell ll is roughened or knurled and the additional shell applied to it.

i From this'itwillbe seen thatif arollof quite large diameter is to be built up a number of h l may be applied thereby rendering. it unto 'work' with extremely heavy shells. Further, when the roll comprises a plurality of shellsall of the shells; except the outermost; or that lastlapplied may be considered as the core so that when the outermost shell becomes too thin as a result of being repeatedly turned down it alone may be stripped off and replaced. One

advantage of this arrangement would be that the outermost shell could be comparatively thin so that the diameter of the'roll would be held or maintained within narrow limits, the shell being frequently replaced without serious loss of material.

From the foregoing it will be understood that either the outer peripheral surface of a core or the inner peripheral surface of a shell to be applied to the core, or both surfaces, may be roughened as by knurling or otherwise cormgating it to produce an irregular or roughened surface. When the core and shell are passed through the die the diameter of the shell is reduced so that the shell and core are drawn hard together and a portion of each enters the other so that the resultant structure may be considered a single solid roll. The drawing or working of themetal in the die improves its texture and makes it of more uniform and better condition for use as a printing roll. In other words it gives a forged or worked metal roll.

The shell may be a previously worked or drawn shell before being applied to the core in which case it is further cold. worked by the drawing through the die in the assembling operation. In any casewhether the shell has been previously drawn or not it is cold worked by drawing through the die in the assembling operation giving a roll in which at least the metal at and adjacent the printing surfaceis worked and drawn giving a printing roll of greatly improved quality and inherent characteristics making it much more suitable for the printing function.

In each instance when the applied shell becomes thin it is'strippe'd from the core and a new shell secured to the core. With this arrangement the core having the tapered andkeyed mandrel receiving opening is not discarded but is repeatedly used. According to the present invention' it' is not necessary to discard the central portion of a roll after the roll has v been repeatedly turned down, and since this center portion already includes the tapered mandrel receiving opening and the key it will be apparent that a considerable saving results when 6- this portion is repeatedly used. The relative heavy core acts-as a support for the shell during the passage of the parts through the die and during such passage the adjacent surfaces of the parts are pressed, worked and drawn together,

making in effecta solid roll. Further, during the operation of drawing the shell through the die the metal of the shells is worked or wrought and is therefore stronger and of fbetter grain thancast metal. Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

I. A printing roll comprising a core having'a tapered and keyed mandrel receiving opening therein, said core having a series of spiral grooves in its outer surface throughout the length thereof and a second series of grooves crossing the first grooves so as to intersect them, an outer 5 design receiving shell on saidcore, and said shell being compressed so that portions of its inner surface are pressed into the grooves in the outer surface of the core whereby the core and shell are rigidly connected and interlocked against rel- 1o ative movements in all directions.

2. A printing roll comprising a core having a mandrel receiving opening therein,- said core having throughout its outer surface grooves intersecting each other, an outer design bearing shell 15 on said core, and said shell being compressed so that portions of its inner surface are forced into the grooves in said core and said core having portions between said grooves forced into said shell whereby the shell and core are rigidly con- 20 nected and interlocked against relative movements in all directions.

3. A printing roll comprising a core member opening therein, an outer shell member of worked metal, and one of said members having a surface provided throughout with intersecting grooves forming recesses into which metal of the other member has flowed by compression on the shell to interlock the two members together against relative movement in all directions.

- 4. A printing roll comprising a core having a keyed mandrel receiving opening therein, said core having an outer surface provided throughout with intersecting grooves, and an outer design receiving shell on' said core comprising worked and drawn metal and extending into the grooves of the surface of the core to interlock the shell with the core against movement in all directions. I 4o 5. A printing r011 comprising a core member having an opening adapted to receive a mandrel, and an outer design receiving shell member closely embracing the core, said shell member comprising worked and drawn metal, and the surfaceof one of said members being provided throughout with intersecting grooves and into which grooves the metal of the other member extends to lock the two members together against relative movement in all directions.

6. A printingroll comprising a core member having an opening adapted to receive a mandrel, 

